to life remembered, and remembering to live

Daily Announcements/ Bulletin Board

At all of the facilities I’ve visited so far, they had some system for making sure the residents, staff, and family members knew what was going on that day, and many had extra information that gave new information to the residents or entertained them. I’ve seen several ways to do this: a screen playing a powerpoint, a bulletin board updated daily, monthly or weekly calendars placed throughout the facility, signs on dining or lounge tables, and flyers passed individually to residents in their rooms.

While this is the most expensive option, a screen would be the most efficient, because it’s eye-catching and very easily adaptable. Here’s a simple example slideshow that you can also view on slideshare (presentation shows up a little dark) or download here: Announcement Slides.

Use these ideas to create a daily bulletin board as well. Add short birthday biographies for residents or post celebrity birthdays as well, include a small box for trivia guesses and draw from correct answers each week for a prize, post the crossword and jumble from the daily newspaper, or print several copies of a crossword each day and the answers to yesterdays crossword for residents to have (freedailycrosswords.com posts a free printable crossword each day), but most importantly, make sure to post the date and the day’s activities.

Another option is to place acrylic sign holders (like this, or this) on tables around the facility to advertise the daily activities. This would be a great option to use in addition to another. Download 1 and 2.

I also have a special made holder for my evening activity posters (because I only work evenings in my current position, and I want everyone to know something is going on before they get in bed). I simply printed the image below (“the sunshine room” is our open activity room/ health center lounge) on card stock, laminated it, and taped an acrylic sign holder to the laminated sign, but I would suggest better attaching it if you have the means. A previous version using a page protector is shown below that.

The posters used for this holder are super easy. Simply download the file (Posters), click on what you want to change, type in a new title or use the drop down menu, insert your new photos (saved to the computer), and print! I use my calendar to find the images I need, save them to the same folder on my computer, and it takes me 10-15 minutes once a month to update the posters and print. This idea might be nice to use for specific rooms that hold events or to show what movies will be shown each evening.

How do you advertise your daily activities and announcements? Let me know in the comments!